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Home | Agri Ministry pursues options with local manufacturer to lower fertilizer costs
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Floyd Green, in discussion with Hedda Pitter, Business Development Manager, Newport-Fersan; regarding options to reduce fetilizer prices during a meeting on August 25, 2021 at the Ministry's Hope Gardens offices in St. Andrew. Other participants from left are Orville Palmer, Chief Technical Director; and Michael Pryce, Director of the Agricultural Marketing and Information Division at the Ministry.
Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Floyd Green, says an agreement has been reached with Newport-Fersan, the country’s sole manufacturer of fertilizer, to look at developing new formulations for fertilizers utilising cheaper inputs aimed at reducing the price to farmers.
Noting that the cost of fertilizer was a threat to the continued growth trajectory in the agricultural sector, Green expressed concern over the increases in the cost of fertilisers and feed stating that would negatively impact farmers’ ability to produce.
For the April to June quarter, the sector experienced a record high performance in Domestic Crop Production of 204,594.8 tonnes, representing a 20.3% increase over the corresponding period in 2020.
Another matter for consideration, Green said, is a direct intervention from the Ministry in relation to the costs of fertiliser.
Speaking at a media briefing held at the Ministry’s Hope Gardens offices on August 25, Green said the decisions came out of a meeting held with Newport-Fersan to look at their challenges, what was driving the increase in costs and to see how the Ministry could work with them to bring down the cost of fertilizer.
“We do know that a lot of the costs that are being increased are being driven by what is happening on the worldwide market, “ said Green, who acknowledged that it was a challenging scenario but that the Ministry would be working with the input providers to see how they can ease the burden on the farmers.
The Agriculture and Fisheries Minister said he has also charged the Ministry’s team to meet with the various livestock associations in relation to feed costs to see how the Ministry can provide some direct intervention to soften the burden of the increasing costs.
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